Bringing you the high-speed motorcycle racing news & action from today with the race photos from yesterday & today.
Having followed AMA Flat Track, AMA Road Racing, WERA & various other series since the early to mid '70s, the adrenaline-fed rush still lives on.
Thanks for making Stu's Shots your one-stop shop for racing news, info & links to the action on & off the track!
ALL shots COPYRIGHT Mike 'Stu' Stuhler (unless otherwise noted.)

Here's another interpretation on the mess that is the Damaged Motorcycle Guys as how it
pertains to the mess that they have managed to make of the AMA Road Racing series this
year. This is Larry Lawrence's version/view of this big mess and it is definitely worth the
read:

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

I know, I know, you come to take a look at some races shots and this guy has pictures of

a 40 year old piece of lead on his blog! Jeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzzz! What's THAT all

about???!!!!

Well, what it is all about is my little statement for whatever it is worth on one of the most

iconic motorcycles, that if you have been and are involved with motorcycles in any way,

shape, or form, you know all about the Captain America bike from the 1969 movie

'Easy Rider.' I'm not real big on the chopper scene, especially for having only been

involved in selling parts and accessories for them back in the mid '70s, so I can't and

won't even try to impress you or bore you with all of the technical details of the bike.

Cuz I don't know 'em, except for the fact that it is a Harley Davidson Panhead, or at

least the motor is. This is just my little 40th Anniversary present to what I considered

to be one of the best movies and statements on how messed up the times were in those days.

Hell, you had Nixon, Viet Nam, soon to be Watergate, and the draft. Which in and about

itself caused more strife on this country-and others-to screw up several generations behind

it's mess. About the only good thing going at the time was NASA and the moonshot, and

a release in cinema. The movie 'Easy Rider' did one of the best jobs of any movie in any

time period of shoving the mirror in front of people's faces--the man!--and showing them

how screwed up they are and were and how it effected the other people around them and

how like a disease it grew until it was medicated, or stamped out.

Anyway, that's enough of my rant on the days of Turn On, Tune In and Drop Out, I just wanted

to showpiece a motorcycle that has affected a lot of people's lives over the years and decades,

in one way or another, as it sure did me. The statement that Peter Fonda, Jack Nicholson and Dennis Hopper made with 'Easy Rider' and Captain America was one that should and will be remembered for years to come. The motorcycle itself made a statement of the free birds and souls that travel the country in search of what it is and what it was. And what it will be.

I took the shots of this jewel at Barber Museum in Alabama during the AMA Road Racing

weekend in April of 2007. This is supposedly one of the originals, that was in crates when

George Barber and his people got a hold of it. I'm not sure if they restored it or if the crates

part was an urban legend, so I won't purport to know those details, either. Hell, they

probably had a sign next to it that said but I was so awestruck and enamored with it--and the

rest of the museum, as well (it was like crack to an addict, man.....)--that I never paid any

attention to that. It just brought back some good memories of some weird growing up times

that was something my dearly departed Dad and I had shared in seeing the movie back in '72

and how special those times were to me. And when you're 15 and your Dad takes you to see

'Easy Rider' it made it even cooler. We had a good time that night! And saw a great flick that

featured what I consider to be one of the all time iconic motorcycles in anyone's world.

I hope you agree, and if not, at least you have to appreciate how sweet this thing is.....for

what it is.....an 900 lb. piece of rolling lead that may turn around in a truck stop parking lot

and will hammer your hemoroids until the second coming of the......oh, never mind. For

Here is another insightful article penned by long-time moto-journalist John Ulrich fromhttp://www.roadracingworld.com/, that also does a wonderful job of showing the mess that theDMG-led AMA Road Racing series has and is now. Take the time to read this and as manyof the links he has posted as well, if you can, as it does a super job of showing what anabortion the AMA Road Racing series has become:

Thanks John! You are another of the GREAT moto-journalists that has covered this messsince the start, let alone your outstanding resume as it applies to racing.Folks, you don't get any more tenured then this gentleman when it comes to racing motorcyclesin any road racing series. This man has a pedigree in racing that makes a New York showdoglook like a street mutt. Great reading and racing from this man!

Monday, September 28, 2009

According to http://www.motomatters.com/, formerly MotoGPMatters.com, tomorrow Ben Spies andYamaha will be announcing his move to MotoGP for the 2010 season on the Tech III MonsterEnergy Yamaha team. Teaming with Colin Edwards, former 2-Time World Superbike Champon team as it appears that James Toseland will be the odd man out with him supposedly headingback to WSBK. Which IMO would be wonderful for that series, as well. Read on for the'official' rumor....and thanks to MotoMatters.com!

As of this time, no news about the above mentioned announcement has yet to hit the web. After perusing several major sites I follow, besides www.motomatters.com who originally broke this yesterday. The rumor mill sometimes gets stirred up quite a bit, but I wouldn't hesitate to say at this point that we won't NOT hear this announcement this year, but just maybe a little closerto the end of the 'official' WSBK season in about 4-5 weeks time. Everything else I see/read/hear out here at this point sure does point to look and sound like this will happen, justtiming the official announcement at this time being the critical and final domino in the puzzle.Stay tuned!

While checking out Mat Mladin trying to check out from Ben Spies, Jamie Hacking, Eric Bostrom, Neil Hodgson, Aaron Yates, Miguel Duhamel, and the rest of the field in race 2 at Road America,
during the June '08 w/e, here are a few interesting links to stories that have come out in the
last couple of weeks about the current regime of the AMA Road Racing series as we know it being run by the DMG folks.
These will help you to form your own opinions as to the current and future state of road racing
in the U.S. as it is presented and run by these people. And to the level of discontent, name-calling, rules-bending and the 'what we will do to handle things today'-way that they have
taken in running this once great series into the ground. And their very own interpretations
of how they have been doing so, what they plan to do to change it, how they plan to change it,
and most likely how they eventually will kill it off like a dying animal. Or something to that effect.
And as I said, you can make and form and think your own opinions on this level of mayhem that
has infected what was once a great championship series, once you have read these stories and
tales and then you can realize, as I have, that the animal may just be begging for mercy. Or a
good hospice to wait out the inevitable.......

I can guarantee one thing. When you get done reading this short link list of articles, you'll
either be laughing your a.. off about the whole discombobulated situation, or you won't be
able to sleep. Or you'll be laughing so hard you can't sleep. Or you may just want to lay
down and beg for mercy just like that animal.......your option......or theirs.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

You are looking at some more shots of reigning World 250GP Champion Marco Simoncelli and his Team Gilera bikes, team and crew from the Indy round of the MotoGP Championship.

Simoncelli, who as reported in yesterday's post had qualified 8th in his maiden outing on a diesel Aprilia in Imola, pulled off a super 3rd place finish today in the 2nd of 2 races at the WSBK round in Imola, Italy. After binning it while running in the top 5 during the first race, Marco came back for a hard fought and worthy final step on the podium, all the while this being his first outing in race conditions on a diesel after racing for years in the European series on a 2 stroke. Great job Marco! Take a bow!!!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Well, obviously this is another VERY shameless plug for some of my stuff, but it is also to

take the time to plug Steve's work on both of his sites. I have to say thanks again to Steve at Motorcycle Picture of the Day and 2 Stroke Biker Blog for posting another one of my shots on both of his sites. This was a shot of Barry Sheene's early '80s TZ500 that I took at Mid Ohio

in '07 that was on display in the Celtic Racing paddock area.

Sweet stuff and thanks so much again Steve! You put in an incredible amount of time and work

on your stuff and it really shows! (People, if you haven't yet, you NEED to check Steve's stuff

out! Like Tony the Tiger used to say....'it's GREAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!')

Saturday, September 19, 2009

The following articles were posted yesterday by Dean Adams and his fine people from the SuperBikePlanet.com site as well as from the fine folks at CycleNews.com. It appears that after

putting up with the Damaged Motorcycle Guys running the AMA Road Racing series (into the ground) that Honda will no longer be supporting any of the classes beginning with the 2010 series--which now is still way off in the distance as no race schedules, tv schedules, and only a

small handful of rider contracts having been signed for the future.

The future for our beloved AMA Road Racing series is now officially looking even more bleak then what it did during this year. Read on, and you can make your own evaluations and form your own opinions based on what you see and/or read here and elsewhere over the course of

championships in the former AMA Road Racing series before the DMG-run take over

of late '07 and all of '08.

Looks like the only thing red now is the bleeding from the added fallout of people leaving

the series.......such a shame.

This is also starting to catch on to the followers--like myself--of the AMA Flat Track series--also run by the Damaged Motorcycle Guys--on the great site FlatTrack.com forum. Take a look see for yourself and add to your opinions and thoughts of the fallout beginning to ensue:

Friday, September 18, 2009

While taking the time to make another shameless plug for some of my old stuff, I first must takethe time to thank Steve at 2StrokeBiker.blogspot.com for putting up with me and putting someof my stuff up on his site.Steve has amassed a suberb collection of largely 2 stroke bikes on his site, while throwing in anoccassional nod to the 4 stroke crowd as well. He very kindly posted a few of my shots with some background info I had sent him, and I owe him a BIG thank you for the post and the head-swelling session he chose to talk about it. It's nice to know there are a lot more people out there that dig this stuff as much as I do. I know I can add Steve to that list! Thanks man, you rock!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

I was surfing some new territory the other night and came across this SUPER site on 2 stroke bikes called 2 Stroke Biker. Steve over there has done a fantastic job of putting together some radical stuff for us followers of the ring ding bikes. Check it out:

And while I am at it, a tip of the hat to Steve for mentioning Stu's Shots, so here is another shameless plug for some of my work thanks to a fine man with one heck of a bad-a.. site. Thanks again Steve, you Rock! And I am sure Larry feels the same!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

A big thanks and a tip of the hat to Brett for all his work and for taking the time to post a few of my shots today. If you're an old time flat track fan or especially a Triumph fan take the time to check out his work---super stuff here!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

If you want to read a GREAT perspective on how messed up road racing is in the
U.S. since the Damaged Motorcycle Guys took over AMA Road Racing-and Flat Track--
this year, take the time to read the following article posted today by the one and only
journalist to be considered officially dead in the media room to these folks, Mr. Dean
Adams.
Dean has been running his website and writing for the print mags since dirt was born,
and has provided truth and cutting edge journalism to the people of the motorcycle racing
community for quite a damned while now. Probably longer then when I saw my first
AMA Road Race at Road America in May of '82, but that is another topic for another time.
Today he posted an article on his website, http://www.superbikeplanet.com/, that pretty much sums
up the mess that is road racing in the U.S. today thanks to the fine people who also bring you
NASCrash. Not that I'm not a fan of that, but compared to the bike racing, okay, come on,
what's your point?! But this one is as close to the gut as a shot of buckshot in telling it like it
is and how messed up their organization is and has become and as a result the mess and trail
of bodies--so to speak--that they have left behind in their trail while making U.S. road racing
look like Romper Room get togethers to the rest of the world.
Read it and make your own opinions.....I sure have! Go Dean! One thing about those mirrors
people hold up in front of others--they may not like the reflection but it sure does bring out those dimples!

Sunday, September 6, 2009

....and it's just your luck that you are going to find out about them here, that is, if youshould choose to keep reading.

Ben Spies, the former 3-Time AMA Superbike Champion from '06-'08, took a 1-2 tallyat the German Nurburgring round of the World Superbike Championship to take thepoints lead over from Nori Haga. In doing so, he has positioned himself for the final 3rounds and 6 races to put himself as the odds-on guy to win the WSBK World Championshipfor 2009. It could get interesting in 3 weeks at the next round in Imola, as Spies hasshown that his 'rookie' status across the pond is just a mere formality. He is no rookie.You can read more about his accomplishments this w/e on SuperbikePlanet.comand WorldSbk.com by following the links on the left side column.

And by now you are asking yourself, okay, so that's 1, what the he.. is the other milestone?

Mat Mladin, the reigning '09 AMA Superbike Champion, and NOW 7-time AMA SuperbikeChampion, rode his last race today and his last event this weekend at New Jersey, cardinga 2nd this afternoon and 24th---yes, 24th!---yesterday afternoon. After crashing out indefense of the lead from eventual double event winner Josh Hayes on Saturday afternoon,Mladin still had sealed the deal on the #1 spot at the last event at VIR three weeks ago, butstill managing to win the championhip by a 47 point margin. He retires from U.S. SuperbikeRacing after 82-official wins, some 62 pole positions, and again that little thing of 7 premierclass championships since 1999. Can you say burn the record books........

You can read the updates of this season ending event off of the links on the left column toSuperBikePlanet.com and RoadRacingWorld.com. Those fine folks did a super job of supplyingus with updates over the w/e and we should bow to their feet for their efforts andprofessionalism that they put out such fine material and journalism to keep us informed andup to date. Bravo to you folks for sure and thank you for your wonderful work!

And to close since by now you are going 'so what is the photo now he's got to tell us.........'

At Mid Ohio in July '08 during race #2 for the w/e, Ben Spies #1 is leading Mat Mladin #6 andJamie Hacking--#2 hidden--as well as #100 Neil Hodgson, #17 Miguel Duhamel, and #20Aaron Yates, coming into, and out of the carousel at the end of the first lap. Mat eventually passed Ben and took the win over Ben, Jamie and Neil.

As we go into the 'labor' part of the Labor Day W/E tomorrow, give thanks to these two--not too mention all of the other racers--for doing what they do and laboring on the racetrack for us to get our adrenaline going.

Thanks to Mat Mladin for giving us 14 years of great competition, of always being on theforefront of safety, and for never leaving anyone questioning how you feel about something.It has been your standing up for the right thing, whether it be safety, rules, racing competition,or event promotion that has raised the level of those things in U.S. racing. And this in spiteof what some of the bumbling types who have taken turns in running this series have triedor aimed to do.

And thanks to Ben for giving the race fans in the United States who have followed him and hiscareer for some time now, a hope of a World Championship again. It has been since '02 whenColin Edwards won his 2nd WSBK title that an American has won the title. We now have hopeagain, and it may come in a BIG way. Keep your fingers crossed....

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The King

The 4-1-1

Fan of all racing, but the bikes are what makes the adrenaline flow and the rush set in.
In what started as an attempt to share and scrapbook my racing catalog, I have since streamlined my coverage to give a more updated and behind the scenes look at motorcycle racing from the eye of my camera and from my perspective as a long-time fan.
So stay tuned for coverage of AMA Pro Flat Track and Road Racing, along with some of the other series that showcase the great sport of 2-wheeled high speed racing!
You can e-mail me @: stuman714@yahoo.com